Plumbing Contractor Soaks Condo Unit Owner with Surprise Bill

I recently had a slow leak from a pipe in my ceiling. I own a lower unit and asked the condo association to send someone out to determine the source of the leak. It was determined that the leak came from the pipe coming off my hot water heater. I opted to have the repairs done by a private contractor. I later received an invoice from the contractor who investigated the leak for $1700 listing mold remediation as the cause for up charge. I am currently disputing the charges as I did not request remediation and I was not notified of the increased charge prior to the work being completed. I received a letter from the condo association demanding that I pay within 10 days as the master policy says that I am responsible for repairs of non-common areas up to $5k. My state’s home improvement commission suggested I file civil suit. Am I wrong in disputing the charge? Should I just pay the $1700?

Mister Condo replies:

J.C., I am sorry for your situation. I am not an attorney so I cannot offer legal advice here but I will offer you some friendly advice. If my state’s home improvement commission suggested that I file a civil suit, I would seek out the advice of a locally qualified attorney to investigate the practicality of such a suit. $1700 is a significant chuck of change and a lawsuit might make sense. On the flipside, if the money isn’t so precious to you, simply paying the balance due will make this problem go away. My other advice is that should you find yourself in a situation where you need to hire a contractor for any other work, get a full estimate in advance. You should never get a $1700 surprise at the end of the job. You hired this contractor (which assumes a contract was in place). If unauthorized work was performed, a lawsuit might just get you out of the extra money. However, protecting your home against mold is a great idea and proper procedure. You may have agreed to have the work done without explicitly getting a price. As they say, burn me once, shame on you. Burn me twice, shame on me. Enjoy your mold-free dry home!

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